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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28908624">Bye Baby Bunting</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/SugahnSpyce/pseuds/SugahnSpyce'>SugahnSpyce</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Mandalorian (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Accidental Baby Swapping, Din Hates Droids, Gen, POV Outsider, single dad</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 11:14:06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,656</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28908624</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/SugahnSpyce/pseuds/SugahnSpyce</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The health center child attendants make a mistake.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>66</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Bye Baby Bunting</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Reeve Gajo shuffled into the childcare wing, grimacing at the brightness of the lights. For a place that performed eye surgeries on a regular basis, the illumination was thoughtlessly chosen. Not wanting to spend any more time there than he had to, he went straight to the desk. </p>
<p>  “Your ticket, sir?” </p>
<p>Reeve handed the protocol droid the silver disk. After scanning it at the terminal on the desk, the droid turned back to him and gestured at the chairs lined against the far wall. </p>
<p>  “Please have a seat. As all the children are asleep, the checkout process is a bit slower than usual. Your patience is appreciated.” </p>
<p>Reeve huffed but crossed the room to the offered chairs. At the end of the row sat a figure in complete armor. </p>
<p>  “Late night, huh?” Reeve began, choosing a seat a respectable three chairs away from the armored figure. “This was the only place open that had an opening. But between you and me, I don’t think the doctor could speak a word of Basic. Still, seems like he did a good job.” He gestured to his eyes. “Just a quick debris removal, you know? You ever had something like that done?” </p>
<p>The helmet swiveled in his direction. “No.”</p>
<p>  Definitely a male voice. And definitely not in a chatty mood. Alright then. Reeve leaned back in his seat and resigned himself to the awkward silence that followed. The door behind the protocol droid’s desk opened and a second droid stepped out. The armored man stood and Reeve was given a clear view of the impressive number of weapons on his person. There were only a few professions that required such arms, including assassins, mercenaries, soldiers, or bounty hunters. No matter which he was, the stranger was clearly highly skilled and very dangerous. Reeve now counted himself lucky the man hadn’t taken offense to his unsuccessful attempt at conversation. </p>
<p>  “Ticket number 111219?” the droid asked. </p>
<p>The man nodded. </p>
<p>  “Thank you for using our services today.” With that the droid stepped aside. </p>
<p>The man pressed a button on his gauntlet and turned for the door. Reeve kept his head down until the sparkle of white light off of silver caught his attention. He glanced up to see the stranger leaving with a very familiar hover pram. </p>
<p>  “Hey!” Reeve jumped to his feet. </p>
<p>The man paused by the exit. </p>
<p>  “You can’t take that.” Heart racing, Reeve slowly stepped closer. </p>
<p>  “Why not?” </p>
<p>It wasn’t exactly an angry tone but it certainly wasn’t friendly. Reeve swallowed. </p>
<p>  “That’s not your baby.”</p>
<p>The stranger turned to face him fully and Reeve reflexively flinched at the menacing posture. </p>
<p>  “Ticket number 122719?” </p>
<p>Reeve startled at the droid’s voice. He spun around to find the droid had returned with an identical hover pram floating behind it. He cringed and addressed the armored figure. </p>
<p>  “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean...I thought…” Reeve shifted his weight and gestured between the baby carriers. “You can see why I got confused. I’ve never seen anyone else with the same one so I assumed…”</p>
<p>  “You were just doing your job as a parent. You thought your child was in danger,” the man said. </p>
<p>Reeve let out a nervous chuckle. “I’m glad you’re not actually taking my baby. I’m not too keen on fighting someone like you.”</p>
<p>The man merely lifted a shoulder as he walked out the door. Reeve pulled out the controls for his own pram and brought it next to him as he followed the stranger out into the rainy night. </p>
<p>  “I’ve got to get home. My wife won’t be happy if I’m late. Well, more late than I already am,” Reeve said, lifting a hand to shield his eyes from the steady drizzle. “You on your way home too?” </p>
<p>  “Just passing through. About to leave the system actually.” </p>
<p>Reeve nodded. “Alright, safe travels. Sorry, again.”</p>
<p>The stranger nodded and the two parted ways. Reeve sprinted to his speeder, cursing the rainstorm that had swooped in ahead of the forecast predictions. After carefully loading the pram into the back, he assumed the driver’s seat and activated the weather shield. Fortunately, his house wasn’t far. It wouldn’t take long. </p>
<p>A cooing drifted up from the back. Reeve smiled and reached back blindly, keeping his eyes on the road in front of him. </p>
<p>  “Someone’s awake, huh?” He fumbled around until he found the button to open the pram cover. “There you go, sweetheart. But just until we get home, then it goes back up. It’s raining right now.”</p>
<p>He readjusted his hold on the steering controls. The last thing he needed was to wreck the speeder so close to home, especially when he finally had the thing paid off. His guide lights shut off. </p>
<p>  “What the…” he muttered, flicking the large switch on the dash. </p>
<p>They came back on without a problem and he shrugged it off as a fluke. Then the lights went out again. He glanced down to find the switch in the wrong position. </p>
<p>  “Figures. I just get through with the payments and something breaks,” he said, jamming the switch up. </p>
<p>Something must have been wrong with the wiring, or the dash, or something because, for the rest of the way home, the switch kept falling to the off position. He made a mental note to have Artt come take a look at it in the morning. Miraculously avoiding a crash, even with the flickering lights, he pulled up to his house. </p>
<p>  “We made it, princess. Let’s go see what Mommy made for dinner.” Reeve climbed out of the driver’s seat and reached for the hover pram. “Are you hungry-mother of moons!” </p>
<p>Instead of the blonde beauty that was his daughter, there was a little green goblin sitting in the pram, staring up at him with huge eyes and a small smile. </p>
<p>  “Oh no. Oh gods. Oh kark.” Reeve rocked back on his heels. “This isn’t good. This is bad. This is very, very bad.”</p>
<p>The green thing squeaked. </p>
<p>  “It’s the wrong baby.” Reeve pulled at his hair. “I am dead. I am so dead.”</p>
<p>Large ears perking up, the little guy tilted his head at Reeve. </p>
<p>  “First my wife’s going to kill me. And then your dad’s going to kill me. And then my wife will probably kill me again.” Reeve bent down to stare into the big eyes. “We have to fix this. Fast. Before my wife finds out. And before your dad leaves the system. Kark! Your dad’s leaving the system! We have to go back and catch him!” He vaulted into the driver’s seat and took off again. However this time, the lights were fine. </p>
<p>He flew straight for the city hangar and pulled up to the attendant’s tower. “Hey Tess, any ships jumped in the past twenty minutes?” </p>
<p>The attendant shook her head. “Don’t think so. Why?”</p>
<p>  “There’s been a bit of a mix-up. I really need to find someone, fast.”</p>
<p>Tess lifted the barrier. “You’re welcome to look around but it’s been pretty quiet tonight. Only a few people have come through. It’s probably the rain.”</p>
<p>  “Thanks.” Reeve guided the speeder through the rows of starships. “Alright little fella, let me know if you see Dad, okay?” He circled around the hangar a couple of times but Tess was right. The place was nearly deserted. Reeve waved at Tess on his way out, thanking her again. “The good news is that your dad didn’t leave yet. The bad news is I have no idea how to track him down. I don’t even know his name.”</p>
<p>The green creature lifted a clawed hand to point out the window as they passed the hospital. </p>
<p>  “I get it. We go back to the nursery and ask for the name off the ticket. Great idea!” </p>
<p>When they went inside, they could hear raised voices down the hall. Reeve winced but quickened his steps. </p>
<p>  “Check again!” The stranger.</p>
<p>  “Please sir, remain calm.” “Our system shows no error recorded.” Those were the protocol droids. </p>
<p>  “Look, pal, I’ve already asked you to leave. Don’t make me ask again!” Probably hospital personnel. </p>
<p>Reeve burst into the room to find the armored man aiming his blaster at the protocol droids behind the desk. “Either you find out where the kid is or I start severing your circuits one by one.”</p>
<p>  “Wait!” </p>
<p>The blaster whipped around in his direction and Reeve automatically raised his hands, palms out, to chest level. </p>
<p>  “I’ve got him. He’s right here. He’s safe.”</p>
<p>The stranger crossed the room in a flash and scooped the green creature up gently, inspecting it for injuries or other trauma. Reeve exchanged a glance with what appeared to be the hospital security officer. </p>
<p>  “We all good here?” the guard asked. </p>
<p>The armored man nodded. </p>
<p>  “Sorry about the confusion,” Reeve said. “The droids must have put your baby in the wrong pram.”</p>
<p>The protocol droids made flustered sounds of confused superiority. “But the system records the tickets as being correctly filed and collected.”</p>
<p>  “Your daughter.” The stranger pushed a button on his wrist and the other pram floated across the room to the two men. </p>
<p>  “There she is. There’s my girl.” Reeve picked her up, pressing a kiss to her forehead. She cooed and grabbed at his hair. “So.” He looked at the stranger. “We both have our children back. But if you don’t mind my asking, how do you fit your ears in the…” The pointed tilt of the helmet and the set of the man’s shoulders made Reeve trail off before he finished the question. “Nevermind. Well, it was nice to meet you and your kid. You take care now.”</p>
<p>The stranger dipped his head and Reeve stepped past him to settle his daughter into the correct hover pram. On his way out the door, he glanced over his shoulder to find the green creature watching him with a smile. He smiled back and gave it a little wave before the door closed.</p>
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